The Business Negotiation Podcast with Fexingo: Deals, Contracts, and Closing Conversations

In this episode of The Business Negotiation Podcast, Lucas and Luna unpack a pivotal moment in the 2023 Nippon Steel-US Steel acquisition saga. They focus on how Nippon Steel made a single, strategically chosen concession—guaranteeing no layoffs for four years—that changed the tone of a deeply political negotiation. They discuss why offering something that costs you little but matters enormously t...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the strategic power of silence in negotiation. Using the real-world example of a deadlocked licensing deal between IBM and a smaller software firm in 2023, they break down how a deliberate pause after an offer forced the other side to reveal their true bottom line. The conversation covers the psychology behind silence, how to time it effectively, and why mos...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how a well-placed deadline clause can break a stalled negotiation without ultimatums. They examine the 2019 Disney–Comcast bidding war for Fox assets, where a ticking clock forced decisive action. They discuss the psychology of deadlines—how they create urgency without aggression—and practical tips for embedding them in any deal. Specific tactics include the...

In this episode of The Business Negotiation Podcast, Lucas and Luna unpack a fascinating case from early 2026: a proposed merger between two mid-tier jewelry chains that collapsed over a single clause about platinum pricing. The deal was worth $340 million. Both sides agreed on valuation, store footprint, and even management structure. But when one party tried to lock in a platinum price assumptio...

Episode 28 of The Business Negotiation Podcast digs into a subtle but lethal mistake: giving a concession too quickly. Lucas and Luna dissect the true story of a 2022 SaaS acquisition where the seller, eager to close, offered a 15% price cut in the first ten minutes of final negotiation. The buyer didn't see generosity — they smelled weakness. The deal fell apart two weeks later when the buyer dem...

Lucas and Luna examine the strategic power of timing concessions in a negotiation. Using the 2014 Disney–ESPN carriage dispute with Dish Network as a case study, they break down how a well-timed, small concession can unlock a deadlock and create long-term value. They also explore the psychological principle of reciprocity and contrast it with premature or poorly timed offers. Listeners learn how t...

In this episode of The Business Negotiation Podcast, Lucas and Luna dissect a 2022 acquisition where the buyer lost $40 million in value — because of one word in the final contract. They walk through the exact phrasing, the counterparty's countermove, and how a seemingly minor semantic shift changed the entire risk allocation. Using real deal documents and a post-mortem with the buyer's general co...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dissect the 2023 acquisition of a mid-market SaaS company where a single well-crafted MAC clause prevented the buyer from walking away from a $1.2 billion deal when the target lost its largest customer during due diligence. They explain material adverse change clauses, how they differ from ordinary-course covenants, and why the seller's legal team insisted on a 'dis...

Lucas and Luna explore the dangers of opening with a range instead of a single number in negotiations. Using the cautionary tale of a failed 2022 acquisition attempt for Boeing's commercial aircraft division and insights from Harvard Business School professor Deepak Malhotra's research on precise vs. round opening offers, they explain why ranges signal uncertainty, cede anchor power, and cost mill...

In this episode of The Business Negotiation Podcast, Lucas and Luna unpack the art of negotiating exit clauses in commercial contracts. Using the real-world case of a 2023 SaaS joint venture between Salesforce and a private equity firm, they explore how a six-month termination notice period turned into a two-year legal battle. The hosts break down specific tactics: defining material breach objecti...

Episode 22 of The Business Negotiation Podcast, hosted by Lucas and Luna on the Fexingo network. This episode drills into a single tactical move: the pre-negotiation email that maps every party's interests before the first meeting. Lucas breaks down a real case where a commercial real estate acquisition that typically takes four months closed in two weeks after both sides exchanged structured, pre...

Lucas and Luna explore the tactic of contingent concessions — a move where one party ties a concession to the other party meeting a specific condition. Using the real-world example of Disney's 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets for $71.3 billion, they explain how Disney secured regulatory approval by agreeing to divest Fox's regional sports networks only if the Department of...

Lucas and Luna examine the art of the graceful walkaway. Using the real-world case of SoftBank's abandoned $3 billion WeWork bailout in 2020, they dissect how Masayoshi Son's pivot from rescuer to walkaway triggered a decade-long lawsuit. But the lesson is broader: in any deal, backing out can trigger scorched-earth retaliation. Lucas explains the psychological trap called the Norm of Reciprocity...

In this episode of The Business Negotiation Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the power of diagnostic questioning in high-stakes deals. They break down a real case from May 2026 where a mid-size manufacturing firm, struggling to sell its robotics division, had stalled negotiations with a private equity buyer for months. The buyer relied on standard financial metrics, but it wasn't until they asked a...

In episode 18 of The Business Negotiation Podcast, Lucas and Luna examine a 2023 acquisition that fell apart at the eleventh hour — and why the buyer's decision to walk away actually preserved more value than closing would have. They unpack the specific moment the acquiring CEO realised the target's revenue projections were inflated by 30 percent, how he leveraged that discovery without burning th...

When does walking away from the table actually bring you back with a better offer? This episode of The Business Negotiation Podcast drills into one sophisticated counterintuitive move: the strategic walkaway. Lucas and Luna break down a real 2023 case where a mid-market software buyer walked out of a $27 million acquisition—and came back three weeks later with a $24 million valuation that stuck. T...

Episode 16 of The Business Negotiation Podcast examines a counterintuitive tactic that closed a tricky mid-market acquisition: the zero-counteroffer move. Lucas and Luna dissect a real 2024 deal where the buyer accepted the seller's first number without a single round of back-and-forth, saving weeks of legal fees and keeping the relationship intact. They explore when this works, when it backfires,...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the true story of a 2024 tech acquisition that stalled for six weeks over a single indemnity clause — and how a four-sentence email from one lawyer unexpectedly broke the deadlock. They trace the negotiation breakdown, the psychological principle called reactive devaluation that made each side dig in, and the specific language that let both parties save face...

Most negotiation advice says never accept the first offer. But what about the first offer you make? In this episode, Lucas and Luna dissect a famous 2017 deal where a startup made an opening bid that every textbook said was too aggressive — and walked away with terms their own board called impossible. They break down the psychology of the 'anchoring trap in reverse,' the one number that changed th...

Lucas and Luna break down the joint venture structure as a negotiation in itself. Using the 2017 Shell-BG Group JV and a more recent 2025 renewable energy partnership between Enel and BP, they explore how companies negotiate shared control, profit splits, and exit clauses before signing. Lucas explains the 'pre-nup for businesses' concept, while Luna challenges whether JVs are just delayed acquisi...

In episode 12, Lucas and Luna unpack one of the most underused moves in negotiation: the strategic concession that triggers a bigger return. Drawing on a real 2023 biotech licensing deal where a mid-tier pharma company gave up 2 percent royalty to gain full marketing rights in Asia, they explain how reciprocity bias works at the table. Lucas breaks down the psychology — why humans feel obligated t...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dissect a real 2023 legal-tech acquisition that stalled for eight months over a single 14-word non-compete clause. They walk through how both sides re-framed the deadlock — not by compromising on principle, but by changing the structure of the consideration. You'll learn the 'conditional concession' technique, why an earnout sometimes creates more value than a price...

In this episode of The Business Negotiation Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore a counterintuitive negotiation tactic: strategic silence. Using the example of a 2023 tech acquisition where one side's impatient chatter cost them $2.3 million in concessions, they break down why staying quiet after making an offer often yields better terms. They discuss the psychological pressure silence creates, real-wo...

In a high-stakes deal, the person who speaks first often loses. This episode unpacks the strategic use of silence in business negotiations, anchored to a real-world seven-figure software acquisition where the buyer's quiet pause after a lowball offer triggered a cascade of concessions from the seller. Lucas and Luna explore why silence works neurologically, how to train yourself to hold it without...

Episode 8 of The Business Negotiation Podcast tackles the subtle cognitive bias that shapes every deal before the first counteroffer even lands. Lucas and Luna break down the real-world mechanics of anchoring — how a single number, strategically placed, can shift the final price by ten to thirty percent without either party realizing it. They walk through a 2024 acquisition where a sixty-five-mill...